The Retro Xena Viewing Experience is a bit of a mind experiment fueled by equal parts of nostalgia and a genuine curiosity about whether it is possible to view comfortable, old friends with fresh eyes. It is our goal to create a new collective viewing experience by revisiting an old one. We are going to watch Xena: Warrior Princess by following the original broadcast schedule. We start this week with Season 1, Episode 1: Sins of the Past.

When we say that we start, we truly mean and pretend that we have never seen it before. This is the true challenge. Can you push everything out of your mind about Xena and take each episode as it comes? Can you let go of your beliefs about the show and the characters? Can you accept that what you thought you liked about the show might not be what you thought? Can you accept that things you're sure you don't like actually strengths? Can a certain Aussie of my acquaintance come around to liking Gabrielle? If this rolls on to Season 4, can I buy Alti as an effective villain?

We are different people now than we we first watched this show. I was an undeclared sophomore in college (closer to birth than 40) when the show started. I'm now half way to 70, work a regular-ish job and have a mortgage. How have you changed?

Discussion of each episode with be in threads labeled with the episode title and tagged with RXVE. If you are in an RXVE thread please just discuss the episode in question and keep your references to relevant preceding episodes. If you want to compare your impressions of the RXVE with your other viewing or the RXVE viewing has made you think in new ways about character development that requires discussion of later feel free to start a separate thread. Who knows, we might actually get people to watch Xena for the first time if we provide them a space in which to share in a collective viewing experience and it wouldn't be nice to spoil it for them. Okay, probably not...

Viewing schedule to be posted shortly...

28 August 2011, 04:32 AM

Argeaux

I like the idea of watching every episode in order.

I have never actually done this. I started a short while ago, then got side tracked.

I notice on Facebook people are saying that we will no longer watch each episode in order, but I hope that's not true.

I don't know how you could have a genuine "retro watching experience" without doing this.

28 August 2011, 06:01 PM

xenacrazed

i watched all the eps in order back in early '09 til mid '10 (2 eps a weekend). It changed my opinion on eps, characters & some of the plots/ storylines/themes of the show. i still hate season 5 ha ha but am willin to give it another go-round. Next time round, i'm watchin the show in reverse order. And no, that do nut mean i'm watchin while the dvd button is in reverse nerrrr!

30 August 2011, 08:06 PM

Amethyst

i don't think there is any point to watching them except in order. Anyone who says different will be chakramed to the head

If i knew what a chakram was, cause i've never seen xena before :P

But it's definately in order

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02 September 2011, 05:41 PM

xenacrazed

whoah! i saw previews of a new show called Xena: Warrior Princess! it didn't tell much or if it did i missed it cuz i was droolin at the sight of that thar Xena lady.

my mama says i'm crazed bout Xena, so i will call myself- xenacrazed!

i'm gonna watch this X:WP show either tonite or tomorrow. i hope it's good & doesn't get canceled after a few eps.

19 September 2011, 04:57 PM

xenacrazed

well, that show didn't last long!

19 September 2011, 09:39 PM

Amethyst

i had a full on hectic weekend. but i intend on doing it in the next day or 2. i might do 2 eps at once, cause i have a pretty busy weekend coming up too

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23 September 2011, 05:06 PM

xenacrazed

you mean there was more than one ep of this Xena tv show?!?! wowser! Hope i can catch these epsbefore it's too late!

28 September 2011, 09:31 PM

Smirk Morgan

Sorry, guys. Life got a little hectic. We went to overtime at work, I got sick, got better(ish), but the OT means working through the weekends too.

Let's try to recruit someone to be the official schedule keeper--I'm not going to be very good for that for a few months :P

30 September 2011, 05:05 PM

xenacrazed

Well i don't wanna be schedule keeper since i did that 'still watching Xena' thread not so long ago.

Ame? anyone else?

Since we're off-schedule anyhoo, how about someone posts two or more eps at once but expand the time to post yer review?